DOCSLIB.ORG

2007 Program Schedule

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
2007 Program Schedule 2007 PROGRAM SCHEDULE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 8:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. SSSR Council Meeting Buccaneer A 2:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m. RRA Board Meeting Buccaneer A 6:00 p.m. Joint SSSR/RRA Council and Board Dinner Ybor Room 6:00-9:00p.m. Registration in Regency Ballroom Foyer Galleria B 8:00-10:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar Regency Ballroom Foyer, Galleria B 1 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2 A-3 Nationalism and National Identity [SSSR] 8:00am-3:00pm Buccaneer A Registration Galleria B Convener Nadya Jaworsky, Yale University, 9:00am-4:00pm [email protected] Book Exhibit Buccaneer B and C ‘ The Changing Dynamics of Religion and National Identity: Greece and Ireland in a Comparative Perspective’ Daphne Halikiopoulou, London School of Economics and Political Science, ___________________________________ [email protected] FRIDAY MORNING, 8:30-10:00 a.m. __________Sessions A1-A11___________ ‘Examining the role of national boundaries on religious activism and ‘just’ economic A-1 Religion and Contemporary trade’ Society [SSSR] Amy Reynolds, Princeton Garrison I University, [email protected] Convener Elisa Zhai, University of Texas, Austin, ‘Nationalism, Religion, and Secularization’ [email protected] Jonathan Eastwood, Washington and Lee University, [email protected] ‘The Public Sphere and the Making of Nikolas Prevelakis, Harvard Modern Islam in Egypt’ University, [email protected] Jeff Kenney, DePauw University, [email protected] ‘Muslims in Europe and Euro-Islam’ James A. Beckford, University of ‘Religion in Context: Exploring Religiosity Warwick, UK, [email protected] and Well-Being in Contemporary Japan’ Michael K. Roemer, The University A-4 Religious Education and of Texas at Austin, Development [SSSR] [email protected] Ybor Room Convener David Sikkink, University of Notre Dame, A-2 Issues in Denominational Research [email protected] Using Prominent National Data Sets: The “Intersecting identities: New Teachers in Case of the Mormons [SSSR/MSSA] American Catholic, Jewish and Urban Garrison II Public Schools” Session A-2 has been cancelled at the Bethamie Horowitz, NYC, NY, request of the participants. [email protected] Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Brandeis University, [email protected] 2 “Walking the Walk: building universality ‘Awe - Towards a naturalistic account’ and particularity into religious identities of Tom Sjöblom, University of youth” Helsinki, [email protected] Katie Day, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, [email protected] A-6 Religious Renewal and Traditionalism [SSSR] “Who’s in Charge of Spiritual development? Buccanneer D Exploring how Teens Negotiate their Convener Religious and Spiritual Identities Outside of Jerry Park, Baylor University, their Faith Communities.” [email protected] Josh Borkin, Teachers College, Colombia University, ‘Islam Needs Revival, Not Reform: [email protected] Traditional Islam and Segmented Assimilation Among Second-Generation “The Impact of Alternative Schooling Muslim Americans’ Strategies on Adolescent Religiosity” Christine Soriea Sheikh, University Jeremy E. Uecker, University of of Denver, [email protected] Texas at Austin, [email protected] ‘The Vanishing Veil: Roman Catholic Sisters and the Resurrection of the Holy A-5 Genetics and Cognitive Science Habit’ [SSSR] Kara Lemma, University of Southern Garrison III California, [email protected] Convener Ann Taves, University of California, Santa ‘Is There a Mormon Evangelical Christian Barbara, [email protected] Rapprochement?’ O. Kendall White, Jr., Washington ‘Genetic Influences on Religious and Lee University, [email protected] Involvement: Correlation with an Adaptive Trait as a Possible Explanation’ Matt Bradshaw, The University of A-7 Spiritual Capital [ASREC] Texas at Austin, Esplanade I [email protected] Convener/Discussant Kimon Sargeant, Templeton Foundation, ‘The Behavior Genetics of Religiosity: [email protected] Reevaluating Model Assumptions’ Jacob Felson, Penn State University, ‘Spirituality, Socially Referenced [email protected] Preferences, and the Afterlife’ ‘Death Where is Thy Sting?: Constructing Rowena A. Pecchenino,Michigan an Independent Measure of Existential State University, [email protected] Certainty’ Aaron D. McVean, University of Nevada, Reno, [email protected] R. David Hayward, University of Nevada, Reno, [email protected] 3 ‘Spiritual, Human, and Physical Capital: ‘Did Religion Have Anything to Do with Are They Complementary Factors in Success and Failure in Post-Communist Economic Growth?’ Transition?’ Carl R. Gwin, Pepperdine Leonid Krasnozhon,George Mason University, [email protected] University, [email protected] Wafa Hakim Orman, Baylor University, [email protected] ‘From the House of Representatives to the Charles M. North, Baylor Houses of God: How Churches Thrive University, [email protected] Under Special Exemptions in the Law’ Krystal Slivinski,George Mason ‘Religion and Economic Development: University, [email protected] Evidence from the Early Twentieth Century’ Robert Subrick, James Madison ‘A Sacrificial Death?’ University, [email protected] Jason Wollschleger, University of Washington, [email protected] A-8 Computational Approaches to the ‘Overcoming Selfishness: Religion and the Study of Religious Belief, Behavior, and Alternatives’ Institutions [ASREC] William McBride, George Mason Esplanade II University, [email protected] Convener/Discussant William Sims Banbridge, National Science Foundation, [email protected] A-10 American Congregations 2005 – The FACT2005 National Survey of ‘A Study of Indepdendent Church Websites’ Congregations [RRA] Chris Bader, Baylor University, Regency V [email protected] Organizer and Convener David Roozen, Director, Hartford Seminary, ‘A Model of Emergent Extermism: Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Necessary Conditions and Countervailing [email protected] Policy’ Michael Makowsky, George Mason ‘American Congregations 2005: An University, [email protected] Overview.’ David Roozen, Hartford Seminary, ‘Strategic Congregational Management’ Hartford Institute for Religion Hernan Bejarano, Penn State Research, [email protected] University, [email protected] ‘FACTs on Growth: A New Look at the Dynamics of Growth and Decline.’ A-9 Student Research #1 [ASREC] C. Kirk Hadaway, The Episcopal Esplanade III Church Convener/Discussant [email protected] TBA 4 ‘Synagogues in the FACT2005 Survey.’ ‘Catholic Identity Among Young Adult J. Shawn Landres, S3K Synagogue Catholics’ Studies Institute / UCLA, Dean Hoge, Catholic University of [email protected] America, [email protected] ‘Worship, Spiritual Identity, and Growth: Seventh-day Adventists and FACT 2005.’ Roger L. Dudley, Andrews University, [email protected] A-11 Disconnected Catholics and Catholic Identity (Catholic Research Forum) [RRA] Regency VI Convener Mary Gautier, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown, [email protected] Discussant Patricia Wittberg, Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis, [email protected] ‘Why Catholics Don't Attend Sunday Mass: An Action Research Approach’ Robert Miller, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, [email protected] ‘Catholics Who Have Stopped Going to Mass’ Bob Dixon, Australian, Catholic Bishops Conference, [email protected] Sharon Bond, LaTrobe University, [email protected] Kath Engebretson, Australian Catholic University, [email protected] Richard Rymarz, St Joseph's College, University of Alberta. 5 _________________________________ B-2 The Politics and Social Relevance FRIDAY MORNING, 10:15-11:45 a.m. of Latino Religion [SSSR/RRA] _ Sessions B1-B11___________ __ Regency V Organizer B-1 Psychological Considerations Edwin I. Hernandez, University of Notre [SSSR] Dame, [email protected] Garrison I Convener Convener Andrew Village, University of Wales, Milagros Peña, University of Florida, [email protected] [email protected] ‘Attachment to God and Self-Conscious ‘Latino Religion and Involvement in Affect’ Immigration Protest’ Harley Baker, California State Kraig Beyerlein, University of University Channel Islands, Arizona, [email protected] [email protected] David Sikkink, University of Notre Corrin Hoglund, California State Dame, [email protected] University Channel Islands, Edwin Hernandez. University of [email protected] Notre Dame, [email protected] ‘Conceptions of God across Muslim, Jewish ‘The Politics of Latino Charismatics’ and Christian Traditions: An Empirical Norman Ruano, Loyola Approach Using the Five Factor Model of University, [email protected] Personality’ Edwin I. Hernandez, University of Scott Forrest Grover, Fuller Notre Dame, [email protected] Theological Seminary, Milagros Peña, University of [email protected] Florida, [email protected] Richard Gorsuch, Fuller Theological Seminary ‘The Role of Latino Churches in HIV/AIDS Alvin Dueck, Fuller Theological Prevention’ Seminary Edwin I. Hernandez, University of Notre Dame, [email protected] ‘Exploring the Relationship Between Rebecca Burwell, University of Manipulativeness and Christian Identity’ Notre Dame, [email protected] Nena L. Kircher, Forest Institute of Milagros Peña, University of Professional Psychology and Missouri State Florida, [email protected] University, [email protected] Guillermo Grenier, Florida International University, [email protected] David Sikkink, University of Notre Dame, [email protected] 6 ‘The Social Service Provision of Latino Convener Churches’ Elizabeth Marquardt, Institute
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Everything in Common: the Strength and Vitality of Two Christian
    Everything in Common: The Strength and Vitality of Two Christian Intentional Communities A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Sociology of the College of Arts and Sciences by Mark Killian July 2013 M.A.T. Miami University, 2000 Committee Chair: Steven Carlton-Ford, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Although most contemporary religious organizations are experiencing decline in adherence and institutional vitality, Christian Intentional Communities (CICs), a set of Christian organizations in which participants live in close proximity so as to achieve religious values, experience growth. Research using the Fellowship of Intentional Communities’ Online Directory indicates a dramatic increase in the number of CICs that have either been formed or are in formation over the last ten years. Yet researchers have not examined why CICs are growing. Therefore, this research aimed to provide an in-depth exploration of the growth and vitality of CICs. To conduct this exploration I employed a multi-method approach, which included a national survey of contemporary CICs, as well as participant observation and community member interviews in Philadelphia and Berea, two CICs located in a Midwestern City. Based on the National Survey of Contemporary Christian Intentional Communities, CICs generally align with one of two cultural ideologies: freewill individualism or expressive communalism. These cultural ideologies, and their accompanying behaviors, attract individuals who experience various types of alienation from American social institutions, such as the media, economic culture, political system, and, particular to CICs, religion. Once established, factors, including charismatic influence, worship service cultures, and inter-organizational cultures, strengthen CICs in terms of members’ commitments.
    [Show full text]
  • LITERATURE on NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS in TURKEY and the WEST Süleyman TURAN∗
    Uluslararası Sosyal Aratırmalar Dergisi The Journal of International Social Research Cilt: 6 Sayı: 27 Volume: 6 Issue: 27 Yaz 2013 Summer 2013 www.sosyalarastirmalar.com Issn: 1307-9581 YEN DN HAREKETLERLE LGL TÜRKYE’DEK VE BATI’DAK LTERATÜR LITERATURE ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN TURKEY AND THE WEST Süleyman TURAN∗ Öz Yeni dini hareket (YDH)’ler, XX. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında ortaya çıkan dini akımları ifade etmektedir. Genellikle küçük gruplar halinde kalma eiliminde oldukları için bu hareketler yakın döneme kadar ya çok az ilgi görmü ya da hiç ilgi çekmemilerdi. Ancak özellikle görsel ve yazılı medyada çıkan haberler sayesinde insanlar YDH’lerden daha fazla haberdar olmaya balamı ve neticede seküler ve sözde rasyonel toplumlarımızda alternatif dünya görüleri ve yaam biçimleri benimseyen ve sunan az sayıda insanın, görünüte acayip inanç ve uygulamaları insanların ilgi ve merakını cezp etmitir. YDH’leri anlamak ve açıklamak üzere Batı’da çok sayıda bilimsel çalıma kaleme alınmıtır. Ülkemizde ise özellikle son on yılda YDH’ler konusunda birçok aratırmanın ortaya konulduunu görmekteyiz. Bu bibliyografya çalımasının amacı, hem Batı’da hem de ülkemizde ortaya konulan çalımaları tespit ederek, YDH’lere ilgi duyan okuyucu ve aratırmacılara literatür verisi salamak ve yeni aratırmalara kapı aralamaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Yeni Dini Hareketler, Dünya Dinleri, Küreselleme, Türkiye. Abstract The term of “new religious movement/s” (NRMs) generally refer to religious trends appeared in second half of 20th century. They generally tend to be so small or last for so short a time that they attracted litle or no attention. Hovewer, yet almost every one has read articles or watch television shows about these groups.
    [Show full text]
  • John Levi Martin Department of Sociology 773/702-7098 University
    1 John Levi Martin Department of Sociology 773/702-7098 University of Chicago [email protected] 1126 East 59th Street http://home.uchicago.edu/~jlmartin/ Chicago, Illinois 60637 EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT Positions: 2013- Florence Borchert Bartling Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago. Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring, 2015 2009-2013 Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago. 2008-2009 Visiting Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago. 2007-2009 Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley. 2007-2009 Romnes Research Fellow, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 2006-2009 Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 2003-2006 Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 2003-2005 Associate Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick (on leave). 1997-2003 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Education: 1997 PhD. Sociology, University of California, Berkeley. Committee: Ann Swidler, Mike Hout, James Wiley, John Wilmoth. Dissertation: Power Structure and Belief Structure in Forty American Communes. 1990 MA. Sociology, University of California, Berkeley. Methods paper: “The Use of Loglinear Techniques in the Analysis of Indicator Structure.” 1987 BA with high honors in Sociology and English, Wesleyan University. Thesis: The Epistemology of Fundamentalism. Herbert Hyman prize for undergraduate sociology thesis Roura-Parella prize for “catholic curiosity and general learning” Phi Beta Kappa 2 WORKS Books: In The True, the Good and the Beautiful: On the Rise and Fall of the Preparation Kantian Grammar of Action. In Thinking Through Statistics. Preparation In Press Thinking Through Methods. University of Chicago Press. 2015 Thinking Through Theory. Norton. 2011 The Explanation of Social Action. Oxford University Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Thursday, May 3, 2001 (Pre-Conference Events)
    #RIQP#LKSBOPFLK3@FBK@B (>OJ !&&!KKR>I#LKCBOBK@B 7EBK Friday & Saturday, May 4-5, 2001 7EBOB New York City Area Holiday Inn at Newark, New Jersey Airport 0OLDO>J Thursday, May 3, 2001 (Pre-Conference Events) • Workshop for Former Group Members (10:00 - 5:00; with optional evening session) Coordinator: Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly; Wendy Ford Wolfberg, M.Ed. • Workshop for Families and Friends (10:00 - 5:00) Coordinator: Livia Bardin, M.S.W. Friday, May 4, 2001 • Cults, Conversion, Science, and Harm (Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.) • Cults, Culture, and Human Rights (Randy Kandel, Ph.D., J.D.) • After the Cult: Spiritual Issues (Craig Branch, Coordinator) • Social Influences on Youth (Dean Borgman, M.A., CAGS) • Cults Around the World (Mike Kropveld, Coordinator) • Problems in New Catholic Movements (Peter Malinoski, Ph.D. Candidate, Coordinator; Ray Dreitlin, Ph.D.; Fr. Michael Duggan, Ph.D.; Fr. James LeBar) • Cults and New Religious Movements: Sociological Perspectives (Stephen Kent, Ph.D. and Benjamin Zablocki, Ph.D., Coordinators) • Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (Steven Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC.; Discussants: David Clark; Linda Dubrow, Ph.D.; Steve Dubrow-Eichel, Ph.D., ABPP) • Conversion Experiences: Positive Accounts (Joseph Szimhart, Coordinator) • Sociological Research: An International Perspective (Jean-Francois Mayer, Ph.D.) Saturday, May 5, 2001 • Cult Members Reflect on The Family's Experience (Livia Bardin, M.S.W., Coordinator) • Cults and New Religious Movements: Psychological Perspectives (Rod Marshall, Ph.D. and Peter Malinoski, Ph.D. Candidate, Coordinators; Lois Kendall, B.Sc., Jodi Aronoff McKibben, M.S., Ph.D. Candidate, Jonibeth Whitney, M.A., Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientology's Legal System
    MARBURG JOURNAL OF RELIGION, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2019) 1 Scientology’s Legal System Phil Lord LL.B. (McGill, Dean's List), B.C.L. (McGill, Dean's List), ACIArb. This paper provides an overview of the legal system of the religion of Scientology. To the members of the religion, this legal system supersedes and fully displaces the mainstream legal system. Scientology’s legal system is self-contained and independent, with rules, enforcement mechanisms, and correctional facilities. The overview provided in this paper will be useful to courts and to further research in the nascent yet vital field of Scientological legal research. The contents are as follows: INTRODUCTION; I. SOURCING; II. WITHIN AND WITHOUT; III. RULES; IV. ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS; V. CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; CONCLUSION. MARBURG JOURNAL OF RELIGION, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2019) 2 INTRODUCTION This paper provides a broad overview of the legal system of the religion of Scientology.1 No legal scholar has yet provided such an overview. This fact is somewhat perplexing, as the religion was founded some seventy years ago.2 More broadly, the literature on Scientology is far sparser than that on other recently founded religions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints3 (two religions which count far more adherents than 1 I am grateful to Prof. Mark Antaki, Alec Sader and Olivier Lirette for their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts. In conducting research for this paper, I have had the opportunity to interact with several Scientologists. The Scientologists who I met at the Montreal and Los Angeles churches have all been kind and helpful.
    [Show full text]
  • Program Schedule
    Friday, August 6, 4:30 p.m. 55 Program Schedule equivalence and blockmodels; an introduction to local analysis including The length of each session/meeting activity is one hour dyadic and triadic analyses; and basic distribution theory and statistical and 45 minutes, unless noted otherwise. Session models. presiders and committee chairs should see that sessions The course text will be: Wasserman, Stanley and Faust, Katherine and meetings end on time to avoid conflicts with (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge, ENG and New York: Cambridge University Press. subsequent activities scheduled into the same room. 1999 ASA Chair Conference—Thursday, August 5, 1:00- Program Corrections: The information printed here 9:30 p.m.—Hilton Chicago, Williford C reflects session updates received from organizers through Section on Political Sociology Conference—Thursday, July 12, 1999. Changes received after that date appear in August 5, 1:00-5:00 p.m.—Hilton Chicago, Boulevard the Convention Bulletin distributed with the Final Program Rooms A-B-C packets. Please check that bulletin for the latest updates. Honors Program Orientation—Thursday, August 5, 1:30- 5:30 p.m.—Hilton Chicago, Marquette Pre-Meeting Activities ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ Alpha Kappa Delta Executive Council—Thursday, August 5, 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.—Hilton Chicago, Lake Erie Friday, August 6 North American Chinese Sociologists Association conference—Thursday, August 5, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.— 8:30 a.m. Meetings ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hilton Chicago, Joliet ____ Add Health National Scientific Advisory Committee— Committee on Nominations (to 4:15 p.m.)—Hilton Chicago, Thursday, August 5, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.—Hilton McCormick Room Chicago, Conference Room 4L 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Eileen Barker the Cult As a Social Problem
    Eileen Barker The cult as a social problem Book section Original citation: Originally published in Barker, Eileen (2010) The cult as a social problem. In: Hjem, Titus, (ed.) Religion and social problems. Routledge Advances in Sociology . Routledge, New York, USA, pp. 198-212. ISBN 9780415800563 © 2010 The Author This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/50874/ Available in LSE Research Online: November 2013 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s submitted version of the book section. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. Page 1 of 13 The Cult as a Social Problem Eileen Barker Jesus was undoubtedly a problem – as were the early Christians, Mohammed and the early Muslims, and Wesley and the early Methodists. Today, L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology, Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong; Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida have all been considered a threat not only to their individual followers but also to the very fabric of society.
    [Show full text]
  • The Use of The» Brainwashing «Theory by the Anti-Cult Movement In
    Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft 7 | 2012 Jahresausgabe 2012 The use of the »Brainwashing« Theory by the Anti-cult Movement in the United States of America, pre-1996 Elizabeth Aileen Young Electronic version URL: http://zjr.revues.org/387 DOI: 10.4000/zjr.387 ISSN: 1862-5886 Electronic reference Elizabeth Aileen Young, « The use of the »Brainwashing« Theory by the Anti-cult Movement in the United States of America, pre-1996 », Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft [Online], 7 | 2012, Online since 31 December 2012, connection on 02 June 2016. URL : http://zjr.revues.org/387 ; DOI : 10.4000/zjr.387 This text was automatically generated on 2 juin 2016. Dieses Werk ist lizenziert unter einer Creative Commons Namensnennung - Nicht-kommerziell - Keine Bearbeitung 3.0 Deutschland Lizenz. The use of the »Brainwashing« Theory by the Anti-cult Movement in the United ... 1 The use of the »Brainwashing« Theory by the Anti-cult Movement in the United States of America, pre-1996 Elizabeth Aileen Young Introduction 1 The late 1960s saw a dramatic increase in the creation of New Religious Movements (NRMs) in the United States of America, and conversion to these groups by young people. This provoked those outside the NRMs, especially parents whose children were members, to »rescue« them from these »deviant groups« by any means possible. For these parents, there was also an important question that needed answering; why did my child join such a group, one with ideologies that directly contradict my own? For many, this question was answered by appealing to the idea of a »brainwashing« theory. The brainwashing theory, when applied to religions, claims that converts to an NRM have been forcefully programmed to believe a set of beliefs that, according to family and friends, are diametrically opposed to what the convert previously believed.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and Science in Three New Religious Movements
    Storming the Gates of the Temple of Science: Religion and Science in Three New Religious Movements Benjamin E. Zeller A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in the Department of Religious Studies. Chapel Hill 2007 Approved by: Prof. Yaakov Ariel Prof. Laurie Maffly-Kipp Prof. Thomas A. Tweed Prof. Seymour Mauskopf Prof. Grant Wacker © 2007 Benjamin E. Zeller ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Benjamin E. Zeller: Storming the Gates of the Temple of Science: Religion and Science in Three New Religious Movements (Under the direction of Prof. Yaakov Ariel) This dissertation considers how three new religious movements—the Hare Krishnas, Unification Church, and Heaven’s Gate—treated the concept of science and the relation of science to religion and the wider society. Each of the three religions offered a distinct position on the nature of science and how religion and science ought to interact. All of the three new religions understood their views of science as crucial to their wider theological views and social stances. And, in each of these new religious movements, the nature and meaning of science served a central role in the group’s self-understanding and conceptualization. Because the roles and boundaries of science so concerned each of the groups, their founders, leaders, and ordinary members offered both implicit and explicit re-envisionings of science. These views developed out of each group’s historical circumstances and theological positions, but also evolved in concert with concurrent social developments and cultural influences.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientology: Religion Or Racket?
    Marburg Journal of Religion: Volume 8, No. 1 (September 2003) Scientology: Religion or racket? Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi The name Scientology (a copyrighted and registered trademark) brings to mind a wide array of claims, observations, impressions, findings, and documents, reflecting a complex and controversial history. The religion/not religion debate over various groups and organizations, prominent in the Western media over the past thirty years, has usually presented the public and politicians with a religion versus "sect" or "cult" dichotomy. The classification issue in this article is framed differently. Hopkins (1969) offered us the terms of the debate in the bluntest and most direct way when he asked in the title of an article in Christianity Today more than thirty years ago "Scientology: Religion or racket?" Read today, the Hopkins article sounds naive and charitable, but this question still stands before us, and yet deserves an answer. The question of whether any particular organization matches our definition of religion is not raised very often, and this is true for both old and new religions (cf. Beit- Hallahmi, 1989; Beit-Hallahmi, 1998; Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997). That is because there is no shortage of religious behaviors and groups whose authenticity is never in doubt, but in some rare cases, authenticity and sincerity are put into question. Regarding Scientology, we have two competing claims before us. The first, espoused by most NRM scholars, as well as some legal and administrative decisions, asserts that Scientology is a religion, perhaps misunderstood and innovative, but a religion nevertheless, thus worthy of our scholarly attention. The second, found in most media reports, some government documents in various countries, and many legal and administrative decisions, states that Scientology is a business, often given to criminal acts, and sometimes masquerading as a religion.
    [Show full text]
  • Contextualizing Debates About Brainwashing Within the Discipline of Sociology by Stephen A
    Contextualizing Debates About Brainwashing Within the Discipline of Sociology By Stephen A. Kent and Kelsey Lindquist University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Abstract Berger, Willer, and Zelditch’s (2005) theoretical research program as a framework for theoretical As a discipline, sociology lacks a core of growth, to assess the possibility of theoretical universally accepted paradigms. Consequently, progress within a context of limited consensus. noncognitive factors, such as political and By doing so, we hope to untangle several thorny ideological values, influence sociologists’ choice issues that seem to be impeding reasoned of research problems and responses to conflicts discussion and possible theoretical advancement between and among theories, which hinders of brainwashing as a social scientific (especially theory growth. In this article, we examine sociological) theory. We begin the article with aspects of the theoretical debate within an overview of arguments by sociologist sociology about brainwashing to assess the Stephen Cole (b. 1941) and physicist/historical possibility of theory growth in the absence of philosopher Thomas Kuhn (1922–1996) about universally accepted paradigms. We do so by advancement in scientific theory, especially their returning to important debates between discussions about paradigms and core concepts. sociologist Benjamin Zablocki and We follow these discussions with Berger et al.’s transpersonal psychologist Dick Anthony, and response to them, then use this exchange as a also published exchanges between sociologists framework through which to examine the Stephen Kent and Lorne Dawson. These debates conflict within sociology over the scientific reveal imprecision over whether the status of brainwashing. In the final section, we brainwashing term refers to a psychological discuss the implications of this analysis of the condition or a social program, and concept for theoretical growth in sociology.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientology's Legal System
    MARBURG JOURNAL OF RELIGION, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2019) 1 Scientology’s Legal System Phil Lord LL.B. (McGill, Dean's List), B.C.L. (McGill, Dean's List), ACIArb. This paper provides an overview of the legal system of the religion of Scientology. To the members of the religion, this legal system supersedes and fully displaces the mainstream legal system. Scientology’s legal system is self-contained and independent, with rules, enforcement mechanisms, and correctional facilities. The overview provided in this paper will be useful to courts and to further research in the nascent yet vital field of Scientological legal research. The contents are as follows: INTRODUCTION; I. SOURCING; II. WITHIN AND WITHOUT; III. RULES; IV. ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS; V. CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; CONCLUSION. MARBURG JOURNAL OF RELIGION, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2019) 2 INTRODUCTION This paper provides a broad overview of the legal system of the religion of Scientology.1 No legal scholar has yet provided such an overview. This fact is somewhat perplexing, as the religion was founded some seventy years ago.2 More broadly, the literature on Scientology is far sparser than that on other recently founded religions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints3 (two religions which count far more adherents than 1 I am grateful to Prof. Mark Antaki, Alec Sader and Olivier Lirette for their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts. In conducting research for this paper, I have had the opportunity to interact with several Scientologists. The Scientologists who I met at the Montreal and Los Angeles churches have all been kind and helpful.
    [Show full text]